I Think We've Had Enough Rain Now...Thanks!

What a wet miserable day it is! I’m supposed to be doing some housework but its hard to feel like doing anything in this dull, grey light.

I don’t know why I don’t seem to have the time to do a weekly diary entry but I always seem to be catching up on the last two or three weeks just lately. I need to organise myself better and get more motivated.

I so nearly broke my leg the week before last. I was going to the greenhouse with the hosepipe, when Mike stopped my with some question while I was crossing the bridge over the boggy bit. Normally you would have your feet on two or three slats at any one time but because I turned sideways, to speak to him, my foot was just on one, in the middle and it broke. My foot shot through to the ground below and I started to topple sideways. I could feel my leg giving, it was trapped between the remaining slats. Mike grabbed me and pulled me back upright, preventing a serious injury but I still have the bruises.

Merlin on the bridge with the offending slat behind him. Afterwards Mike said it was lucky he was there to save me. I had to point out that if he hadn’t have stopped me in the first place, then it wouldn’t have happened.!!!! The bridge is only two years old and this shouldn’t have happened. We’re getting some replacement slats sent from the manufacturer.

Last weekend was a long weekend and on the Saturday afternoon we went down to Bath to see Mike’s daughter. The weather was lovely, we sat in the garden all afternoon and I really caught the sun. We had a lovely time chatting to Chloe, who is a teenager next year!

Where on earth did that time go?

Abigail went to a sleepover party, so we only saw her for a quick hug.

Whilst sitting in the garden we met the latest member of the family…George.

David and Sam joined us mid-afternoon and there were lots of nibbles, wine and trampolening. I abstained from the latter, as memories of the last time, when Catherine bounced me off onto the floor, are still painful!

Mike and I went to see the house that Sue and her husband have bought, which is having to be extended and altered to become an adequate sized home. It’s in a lovely position but oh my god! What ARE Bath property prices like. Mike and I couldn’t afford a shoebox there!! Sue didn’t want to come whilst it is in the demolition stage but I didn’t think it looked that bad.

We stayed for dinner at Sue‘s, which was lovely, Monkfish wrapped in Parma Ham. (how the other half live eh?) and poor Mike was driving, so couldn’t have any of the wine.

On Bank Holiday Monday, we went out for a drive to Gloucestershire. There is this church we had noticed recently from the M5 just before Junction 11A. We didn’t know why it seemed to have recently appeared and it looked very striking on top of a hill.

It look us a little while to find it. Its high above the village of Churchdown, up a long, narrow track, which only those that knew it, or nosey parkers like us would ever go up.

We were lucky, it’s normally kept locked but a couple who are planning to marry there were being shown round, so we got to have a quick peek. It was well worth going to have a look around.

The views are amazing.

After that we tried to get lunch somewhere nice but the Forest of Dean doesn’t boast many welcoming pubs. They mostly looked rundown and lacking in character. We found one that looked good and the food appeared to be excellent, we got a table but then realised it was going to be at least an hour before we ate, so decided not to bother.

I was having one of my strange days, when I can’t stay awake and must have fallen asleep at least 30 times. I hate that, I think I’d eaten too much wheat, which has that effect on me.

It was back to work Tuesday and lots of talk about SATs and QCA testing which starts tomorrow.

On Friday afternoon I went to visit a new friend, who lives in Wolverhampton, we met online ,through our family history research. I wanted to go to David Austin Roses, which is a short distance from where she lives. She’s like me in that she says what she thinks and we laughed at a lot of things that some might have found a bit questionable in taste but it does you good to have a laugh and each to his own. There’s a pretty little tearoom there and they do CAKE, of the home made type, so that was a good trip out.

We’ve decided we will have another trip out, to a National Trust Property next time but it must include CAKE! On the way home I stopped to take a photo of this rather unusual Sainsbury’s.

Mike had an I Pod for his birthday present, which he’s very pleased with but neither of us has been brave enough to open the box yet. No doubt I will have to sort it out.

I had some GHD Hair Straighteners for my birthday, which cost more than his I Pod. I’m getting to grips with them now. They’re good for straightening my hair, obviously. Last night I used them to curl my hair. We were going to the Hereford Police Choir annual dinner . Mike’s got an honourary position with them because of all the work he does for them as a Compere at their concerts. So I had a lot of loose, ringlet type curls and I was really pleased with the way it looked.

Hereford Police are part of the West Mercia Constabulary and last night their Chief Constable Paul West was there. (Aren’t Chief Constables getting younger?) Before we started the meal he wanted to say a little about the member of his force, who was shot dead whilst attending a domestic dispute last Sunday . Richard (Ricky ) Gray had been commended for bravery 5 times and had been with West Mercia for four years. He twice saved people from drowning in the River. We observed a minutes quiet reflection in Ricky’s memory.

I hadn’t been to one of their ‘Do’s’ for a few years but recognised some of the people and chatted to them. Their Pianist came up to say hello and I said, Are you going to have to ‘Sing for your Supper’ tonight? I had to stop myself from laughing out loud when she said ‘No. But I’ll be playing the piano’.

I was talking to Catherine on the phone this morning, I’m going to put our name down for an Allotment, there is a waiting list for some of the sites but hopefully when the annual rent falls due in October, there will be some available. We want to grow our own Veg. She should be living over here by then.

She told me that Flo had said that he was really looking forward to picking Lulu (me) up from the airport. Catherine said, Oh that’s nice but why exactly. He said……because I’ll be able to have a Burger King at the airport!

Just spoke to the man at the Battery Rescue Hen Welfare, he says I can have two girlies next week, so Isabella will have company again, rather than hanging around, forlornly, at the back door, in the hope she can sneak in and join us and pinch some cat food. I found her in the sitting room the other day, having a conversation with her reflection in the glass door of the Video cabinet.

Sometimes this is an odd house.

And I thought this was going to be a short entry!